A friend ever true
by Crystal E. Fall
Summary: Waratah National Park is full of surprises and thrills. Especially for an intelligent Eastern Grey Kangaroo. Sonny, Mark, Matt, Jerry, Clancy and of course Skippy the bush Kangaroo have had their fair share of adventures among the Australian wildlife. But how did it all begin? A look into Sonny and Skippy's first encounter.


**A friend ever true: Skippy's beginning**

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The trees slowly swayed in the warm breeze drifting through Waratah National Park, filling the air with a soft rattle and the faint scent of eucalyptus and damp wood. Bushy grass whisked against the ground, kicking up faint dust clouds on the sandstone cliffs, scattering yellow and brown among the green.

As the early sun bathed the desolate land in soft light, more and more animals began to stir in their sleep. A few branches above an old koala, who was snoring lightly in its sleep, a magpie rose with a screech and spread its black wings in the humid air. Out of a hollow tree trunk a possum peered out, dozily blinking at the now lit landscape. Far off, a kookaburra let out a shrill morning call, its voice echoing through the treetops. All was peaceful, no sound nor sight disturbing the everyday motion of the Australian woods.

Well, almost.

Further down near the sloping cliffside a branch snapped as it was stepped on, soon accompanied by a scraping sound as something proceeded to climb up the rockface.

A pair of hands firmly gripped a tree root as a young boy steadily pulled himself up. He was casually dressed in long pants and a red-and-white-striped camp shirt, with dark brown hair cut short and a face covered in freckles. His name was Sonny Hammond.

He lived just by the park with his older twin siblings, Mark and Hailey, and his father, Matt.

Matt Hammond, a kind, strongly-built man with a great sense of right and wrong, was the park's head ranger. His job was to protect the wildlife from any threat in the sanctuary, which he deeply cared for. The love for nature was something that had greatly rubbed off on his children, especially Sonny, seen as the youngest son spent as much time as possible wandering through the thriving vegetation.

Even though Sonny wasn't quite six years of age, he already knew the forest well and could navigate through it without much trouble. However, he never strayed too far in, to be sure that he wouldn't get lost.

As he happily made his way over grass and rocks, a strange noise suddenly arose in the air that he had never heard before. It was a soft clicking, as the sound you might make when you're calling for something. That wasn't the only reason though why it made Sonny stop dead in his tracks and his heart beat faster in his chest. There was a vague undertone in the voice, a tone of distress and… pain?

Curious as he was, Sonny slowly crept forward through the bushes, the sound getting louder the closer he got.

Suddenly, it stopped. Sonny furrowed his brow in confusion. What was going on? He was really starting to wish his dad was there with him. He would know what to do.

That's when the shrubs in front of him abruptly exploded into action when something small and grey tried to make a run for it, but couldn't. Sonny jumped at the sudden movement, though relaxed when he saw what was causing all the commotion.

In front of him, still struggling hard, was a kangaroo. It was very small, probably not more than a year old, with grey, rugged fur and a little pouch. He quickly identified her as an Eastern grey kangaroo. All while skipping around, she began to let out the clicking sound Sonny had heard earlier. The boy frowned. He had never known a kangaroo making that kind of noise before, and he found it very peculiar indeed.

Though he didn't think of that much more when he noticed the thick metal wire that was caught around the animal's leg, creating a deep gash. A sickening feeling tied his stomach into a knot. Why did people put out traps and snares? All they did was hurt the animals, which was wrong. Very wrong.

He carefully approached the kangaroo one step at a time, pushing down his fear and trying to smile comfortingly. His dad had taught him that being cautious and fearless when handling living creatures was very important, as it many times calmed the animals down if it knew you meant no harm.

Soon they were only a few inches apart. The kangaroo was eyeing him quietly, ready to run if he did anything too hasty. Every movement hesitant, Sonny reached out towards the curved wire and gently proceeded to untwine it from the marsupial's leg. When he suddenly and accidentally rubbed his knuckles against her soft fur she jerked upwards and began skipping around frantically again, only tightening the snare's hold. In desperation, Sonny cried out:

"Calm down, Skippy, I'm not going to hurt you!"

Immediately, the kangaroo stopped thrashing and perked her ears forward, listening intently, seemingly soothed by his voice. Sonny smiled, relieved.

"You like the name? Skippy?"

Skippy's deep brown eyes met his in what he thought could be a confirmation.

"Now stand still," he told her sternly, "so I can get this wire off of you."

As if understanding, Skippy didn't move an inch while Sonny began removing the snare again. This time, without all the struggle, the wire came off easily and the kangaroo was finally free. Sonny studied her leg closely. Now he could see that the wound the metal had left was much smaller than he had previously thought, and that it most certainly would be able to heal on its own.

"You got lucky, Skippy," he addressed the kangaroo again. "You'll be fine in no time."

Sonny slowly rose to his feet, dusting off his knees, all the while Skippy was watching silently. Her nose twitched a little when he gestured to the right.

"Off you go now."

Still Skippy didn't move. They eyed each other, neither making a sound, before Sonny sighed and began walking back the way he had come earlier.

"Goodbye then, Skippy."

He was just going down the hill again when he heard several soft bounds behind him. Turning around, he saw Skippy jumping up right next to him, once more letting out the curious clicking noise.

"You want to come with me?" he wondered.

She went into a stream of sounds, her eyes not leaving him once. Sonny grinned widely.

"Wait until dad gets to meet you, Skippy! Won't he be surprised!"

Together this time, they set off through the forest; Sonny leading the way, Skippy not far behind.

After a while, the trees seemingly parted to reveal an open gravel yard, lined with green and yellow patches of grass and shrub. A neat road lead straight to the front of a humble wooden building, one side covered in windows while the other sported a brick wall. An auburn, flat roof topped the house off, casting a shade where it jutted out over the entrance slightly to the right. A long, thin sign ran along the wall of bricks, projecting the words "Ranger Headquarters, Waratah National Park" in white big letters.

Up on a hill, just by the main house, a similar building stood, though with only two big doors out front. This was the garage where all the ranger vehicles were parked. There was also room in there for a helicopter, which though currently was out for repairs. In the middle of the graveled area was a white circle, working as the helipad.

The second garage door opened to reveal Sonny's father Matt coming out, cleaning his hands on a towel. He was wearing the classic attire for the rangers in the area: beige khaki pants and shirt, tucked in under a simple brown belt, and low-cut boots. Sonny immediately raced up to him.

"Hey, dad!"

The man turned around at the call, and smiled when he saw who it was.

"Hi there, son."

He then noticed the little kangaroo bounding up beside the boy, all while curiously taking in her surroundings. Sonny, noticing his inquiring look, quickly said:

"Dad, this is Skippy. She wanted to come with me."

"I see," Matt answered simply, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

Misreading his father's tone, Sonny desperately began explaining everything that had happened. He was in such a hurry that he ended up tripping over his words, all while gesturing wildly. Matt watched in entertained silence, letting him ramble on. Finally, Sonny took a deep breath and concluded:

"And then Skippy came with me here, dad. She didn't want to go. Please dad, can we keep her? I think she likes me."

Matt was just about to answer when footsteps were heard approaching. A boy, at least seventeen years of age, came walking up the hill. He had brown hair, cut short and brushed to the side, dressed simply in sand-coloured shorts and a white t-shirt. In his arms he held a box filled to the brim with various things. The teen stopped when he saw the small party gathered outside the garage, expressing a surprised look when seeing Skippy.

"What's going on, dad?" the boy inquired, confusion filling his hazel eyes as he glanced at Matt. "Why is there a kangaroo here?"

Matt smiled at him.

"Sonny's found a new friend. Mark: meet Skippy."

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 **When I was looking through the fandoms, I couldn't believe there was no Skippy page yet! I decided to change that, and here I am. :) This is a kind of prologue or introduction to the series, as I found it hard to come into the series when I began watching it. I hope you enjoyed this, and thank you for reading!**


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